Da Li Temple - Chapter 57.2

Chapter 57.2
Conspiracy

The lights in the Zi Chen Hall stayed on all night, and under the twelve linked bronze lamps, Emperor Yonghui handed a secret letter to Su Moyi.
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“There’s already news about where that batch of Wuzi from Hongzhou went.”
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Su Moyi froze, took the secret letter, and read it at a glance.
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The letter said that Official Zhang put the batch of Wuzi on the bottom of the ship and transported it out by water. The person who did the job followed the order and the shipment from Hongzhou to Huainan.
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The hand holding the secret letter tightened, and Su Moyi’s pupils were slightly shocked. Huainan was King Liang’s fiefdom during the previous Emperor’s era.
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Emperor Yonghui saw his expression change and said in a deep voice: “Everyone only knows that the late Emperor once ‘released power with a cup of wine,’ recovered the military power from the hands of the feudal kings from all over the world, but I don’t know that when this matter came to fruition, he had secretly reached an agreement with King Liang.”

T/N: (?????)(B?i ji? shì b?ngquán) happened in Dynasty Song; when Zhao Guangyin expressed his opinions during the banquet and used coercion and inducement to imply that the generals at the banquet would hand over their military power. The generals obeyed and resigned on their own the next day.

Su Moyi raised his head, looking at Emperor Yonghui, waiting for him to finish. “That year, the late Emperor didn’t have an heir. After succeeding to the throne for seven years, there was no happy news from the palace. It also coincided with the previous dynasty’s three years of conquest and the pacification of King Wu’s rebellion, so the late Emperor intended to pull in the strongest King Liang at the time.”
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As for how to draw in, Su Moyi immediately guessed one or two. When King Wu revolted, the court sent troops to suppress him. The powerful ones fought against each other, and both sides suffered losses.
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The late Emperor intended to eliminate future problems, added the fact that he didn’t have an heir, so to prevent the fall of the imperial power, he promised the throne to his younger brother, King Liang, so that he could take the lead and show his loyalty to the court.
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King Liang was young and did not understand the affairs of the court; under the temptation, he agreed to the proposal of the late Emperor and handed over the military power. But a few years later, after the birth of Princess Anyang, the harem was full of happy news, and the heirs of the late Emperor gradually prospered.
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King Liang realized that the late Emperor had tricked him, cooked the hunting dog after the rabbit had died, and that he had torn down the bridge after crossing the river. But at that time, he was already a prince who had lost his power, and it was a fool’s errand to fight against the late Emperor.

When one thinks about it, his intention to secretly raise private soldiers and seize the throne is entirely motivated. Loss of power is easy, but raising power is complex; one can throw things overnight, but now it needs more than ten years of planning to get up again. King Liang is indeed patient.
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“Then what does the Emperor intend to do?” Su Moyi asked.
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Emperor Yonghui was silent, speechless for a moment. Just a few boxes of Wuzi that had been transported to Huainan wasn’t enough to prove King Liang’s intention to plot against him; turning on him with this would give him a bad reputation for mutilating royal clan members and disrespecting his elders. Moreover, since he has been able to hide carefully for so long, he might have entangled with the former dynasty’s members. In addition, he was related to the Empress’s family by marriage. What if the crown prince is involved? King Liang will take the opportunity to make trouble and hit a rake.
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Indeed, it wasn’t easy. Want to be victorious in this game without moving? There is no other way except for long-term planning. However, King Liang would not necessarily give them so much time. Since he had already started hitting on the idea of weapons, it would only be an endless nightmare if they dragged on.
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The thought process was impasse, and the hall was so silent that one could hear a pin drop.
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“Emperor,” Fu Gui marched over from afar, holding a food box in his hand, looked at Yong Hui Emperor, and then looked at Su Moyi, “This is the soup that the Empress Dowager asked her servant to send, saying that ruling the dynasty is hard work, so don’t tire out your body.”
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“En,” Emperor Yonghui casually answered and waved his hand to signal him to put the things down.
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Fu Gui glanced at Su Moyi as he passed by him and said meaningfully, “The Empress Dowager also asked me to bring a message to the Emperor.”
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Emperor Yonghui paused and raised his head to signal him to speak.
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Fu Gui opened the food box in his hand and said, “The Empress Dowager said that she raised a goose in the palace last year and saw that it was smart and clever, so she chose it to be the leader goose. But it didn’t know what was good for it and escaped the confinement fence several times, and led other geese to chase and bite the palace staff who kept it, so the Empress Dowager, in a fit of anger, took advantage of the time when it escaped from the fence, and ordered it to be slaughtered.”

He paused, observed Su Moyi and Emperor Yonghui’s expressions, and added: “Since then, the other geese have been much more peaceful. Therefore, the Empress Dowager asked her servant to send it here for the Emperor and Heir to taste it.”
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Su Moyi understood. His heart fluttered, and he turned to look at Emperor Yonghui, who also had a thatched look on his face.
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To capture a thief without evidence, then dig a pit for him to jump into himself. The person who has bad intentions and other plans is King Liang; whenever there is desire, there will be chaos; the person who should panic should be them.
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After Fu Gui finished his words, he bent and retreated.
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Inside the brightly lit Zi Chen Hall, the king and minister smiled at each other.
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Su Moyi turned over the investigation about Song Zhengxing on the imperial desk and asked, “Does the Emperor know that this Song Zhengxing, from the beginning of his term as Hongzhou governor, was a disciple of King Liang?”
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Emperor Yonghui nodded, noncommittal.
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“Then the previous fake silver case, plus the Song mansion murder case that Da Li Temple intervened in, the Capital Government Office’s prison slaughter case, all the piles and pieces allude to Song Zhengxing. Is King Liang not aware of it?” Su Moyi asked.
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Emperor Yonghui was thoughtful and did not say anything.
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“According to my view,” Su Moyi said, “King Liang’s party is meticulous and cautious, what the Emperor knows, even if it’s covered up well, they definitely won’t know nothing. Otherwise, when I was in Hongzhou, Official Zhang would not have tried several times.”
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“What you mean is ……” Emperor Yonghui looked at Su Moyi, his brows slightly knitted.
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“En,” Su Moyi nodded, “the reason why King Liang has kept Song Zhengxing until now without touching him is not because he didn’t notice but because he didn’t dare.” He paused, his eyebrows under the candle flame tight, “Because Song Zhengxing has his weakness. If I didn’t guess wrongly ……”

Su Moyi pressed down the dossier with one hand and said with certainty, “Once Song Zhengxing is dead, the Emperor will receive this evidence. Therefore, as long as the court finds an excuse to apprehend Song Zhengxing, King Liang will be in chaos.”
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“But what if he raises an army and rebels?” Emperor Yonghui asked.
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“On what grounds?” Su Moyi asked, “If we arrest Song Zhengxing for the right reasons and he dares to raise an army, he will become a rebel that the world will revile. Therefore, he doesn’t dare to come to the open and only dares to move in secret.”
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“And, what we want is his secret action.”
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Emperor Yonghui understood and smiled, “The third son of the Song residence will marry his wife three days later; at that time, I will visit the Song residence to congratulate him in person.”
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Author Notes :
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Hu Ji is good to Qingqing, but she is not a good person. No more childhood sweetheart because I think it will make Lord Su go crazy with jealousy! Hahahahahahahahaha, let’s wait and see his jealousy PLAY!